The rapid growth of communication technologies has led to the development of new and innovative electronic devices and electronic device functionality. One area which has seen rapid growth is in the development of various User Interface (“UI”) schemes and UI functionality. Additionally, the drive to improve the usefulness of existing electronic devices and meet end-user requirements has resulted in the advancement of even basic application programs.
As many such electronic devices include cameras (such as cell phones, smart phones, tablets and portable personal computers), camera-related applications in particular have already seen advancement from basic camera functions that merely allow visual capture of a subject, to functions enabling the sharing of captured images to other users through text messaging, e-mail or social media. Captured images may also be altered or edited for a variety of purposes. For example, there now exist various image editing applications that allow a user to perform a variety of simple or even complex editing tasks, such as adding filters, removing red-eye, or even altering major aspects of the photo (e.g., changing the hair style of a person in a photo).
The hardware of these electronic devices have also seen advancements in utility and functionality. For example, many modern electronic devices are now equipped with two cameras, one placed on a front-facing surface of the electronic device, and one placed on a rear-facing surface of the electronic device. This enables a plurality of functions such as live video-chatting, easier capture of self-portraits, etc. Another relatively new function involves the display of both the front image and rear image taken by the front and rear-facing cameras, respectively. In this so-called “Dual-Shot Mode,” the front image is combined with the rear image to form a composite image. The main image (captured by the rear-facing camera) may be, for example, overlaid with a sub-image (captured by the front-facing camera) in something resembling a Picture-in-Picture (“PIP”) format. This may allow users to capture an event or thing of interest (taken by the rear-facing camera) while simultaneously capturing his or her own expression or reaction to the event (taken by the front-facing camera).
However, problems arise when users attempt utilize Dual-Shot Mode, because users must then consider and capture two image compositions simultaneously. In conventional Dual-Shot Mode, the front image is displayed in a PIP “box” over the rear image (the placement of the front image PIP “box” is usually predetermined, but changeable within the picture composition). It is typically difficult to set proper shot compositions for the front image. Particularly, the face is usually lopsided in any resulting front image compositions, being more heavily weighted towards one side of the captured image, especially if the viewing angle of the front camera is wide.
Also, when the front image PIP “box” (which may also be called a sub-image) is relatively small compared to the size of the full composite image, the user may have difficulty confirming the quality of the sub-image, due to its size limitation within the preview screen.
Furthermore, because the user must trigger the capture button with one hand, and steady the electronic device with the other hand, the electronic device may sway, resulting in an out-of-focus image. Therefore, the composite image is often of poor quality, resulting in user dissatisfaction.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present invention.